Bloomberg: Deutsche Bank’s Russia CEO to Resign

Deutsche Bank AG’s head of Russian operations, Pavel Teplukhin, will step down in August as the German lender scales back its local business in the wake of a money-laundering scandal.

Teplukhin, 52, will remain on the bank’s Russian supervisory board and his executive responsibilities will be transferred to the chairman of its management board, Annett Viehweg, Deutsche Bank said Wednesday in an e-mailed statement. He joined the Frankfurt-based lender in 2012.

Deutsche Bank is reducing its presence in Russia, shutting the securities unit this as it faces a money laundering probe by regulators in London and New York over suspicious trades that moved as much as $10 billion out of the country between 2012 and 2014. Other foreign banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and BNP Paribas SA, have also retreated from Russia, as sanctions and a drop in oil prices sparked a recession.

“My departure is connected to the reduction of Deutsche Bank’s business in Russia,” Teplukhin said by phone. “I’m not sure what my next plans are, but I’ll probably remain in the financial sector.”

Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer John Cryan has said he seeks to resolve investigations into the so-called mirror trades and other major legal issues this year.